Breakdown of J'allais retirer l'argent et poster la lettre, mais j'ai eu un contretemps.
je
I
un
a / an (masculine)
mais
but
et
and
avoir
to have
aller
to go
l'argent
the money (m)
la lettre
the letter
la
her, it (feminine direct object pronoun)
retirer
to withdraw / to remove, to take out
poster
to mail
le contretemps
the setback
Questions & Answers about J'allais retirer l'argent et poster la lettre, mais j'ai eu un contretemps.
Why use the imparfait j'allais here instead of the passé composé je suis allé?
The structure aller (in the imparfait) + infinitive expresses an unfulfilled past intention—something you were going to do, but ultimately didn't. If you used the passé composé (je suis allé retirer), it would mean you actually went and did it!
Why does the sentence switch to the passé composé for j'ai eu?
Why is poster in the infinitive form?
It shares the helping verb allais with retirer. Just like in English ("I was going to withdraw... and mail..."), you don't need to repeat j'allais. You can simply link the two infinitive verbs with et.
Learn J'allais retirer l'argent et poster la lettre, mais j'ai eu un contretemps and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free